Ornamented support collar for microphone and the like

ABSTRACT

An ornamented rigid collar adjustable to the wearer&#39;&#39;s neck size and provided with a protective lining, with a socket secured through the collar portion and exposed therefrom, having a post removeably secured through the socket and extending therefrom, and a support member secured to the free end of the post and adapted to receive and support a microphone or the like, the support member rotatively adapted to position the microphone with respect to the wearer&#39;&#39;s mouth. A stud replaces the post in the socket when the post is removed. The support member may be formed to engage and hold a mouth organ.

United States Patent [191 Noury, Jr.

[451 Dec. 23, 1975 ORNAMENTED SUPPORT COLLAR FOR MICROPHONE AND THE LIKE [76] Inventor: Jerry Lewis Noury, Jr., 522 W. 29th St., New York, NY. 10001 [22] Filed: Oct. 21, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 516,634

[52] US. Cl. 179/157 [51] Int. Cl. H04M l/05 [58] Field of Search 179/156, 157

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,554,119 9/1925 Morgan 179/157 Primary Examiner-William C. Cooper Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sydney B. Schlessel, Esq.

[57] ABSTRACT An ornamented rigid collar adjustable to the wearers neck size and provided with a protective lining, with a socket secured through the collar portion and exposed therefrom, having a post removeably secured through the socket and extending therefrom, and a support member secured to the free end of the post and adapted to receive and support a microphone or the like, the support member rotatively adapted to posi tion the microphone with respect to the wearers mouth. A stud replaces the post in the socket when the post is removed. The support member may be formed to engage and hold a mouth organ.

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet1of2 3,928,734

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,928,734

ORNAMENTED SUPPORT COLLAR FOR MICROPHONE AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to the field of support structures, and has for its particular objective the provision of a collar, adapted to be worn around an entertainers neck and which is provided with an extention adapted to receive and support a microphone in a fixed position relative to the wearers mouth, so that the wearer may be able to stand, sit or walk about freely, within the limits of the microphone cord, and have both his hands free to play a musical instrument, or any other desired purpose.

2. Prior Art In the present state of the art various fonns of holding devices for the support of microphones by a speaker or entertainer have been devised. Among the more common forms are to be found the support stand, which requires the user to stand in one spot as he sings, speaks or plays an instrument. If he desires to move about he may remove the microphone from its stand and carry it with him, but in such case at least one of his hands is encumbered thereby, and he cannot use both of his hands where required to play an instrument, etc. Another common form of microphone support, known as the lavalier type, is suspended around the neck of the wearer. Some of the disadvantages found with this type of support are that the microphone position, with respect to the wearers mouth, is often changed with body movement and turning, and becoming covered by the wearers clothing, thereby affecting uniformity of transmission, as well as generally being some distance from the wearersmouth. Other types of supports include body, shoulder and head harnesses, which are often cumbersome, and unattractive cosmetically.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aforementioned disadvantages are overcome by my invention, which comprises a cosmetically attractive collar that is provided in its front portion with a socket adapted to receive and support a post provided at its free end with an adjustable support member into which a microphone is removeably seated, the support member adapted to be selectively adjusted with respect to the distance between the microphone and the wearers mouth, and thereafter remain in such position as long as desired, in accordance with the wearers needs. A further important feature of my invention is to be found in that the holder or support member and post can be selectively removed from the collar, and an ornamental stud replaced in the socket, thereby transforming the support collar into an ornamental article of wear.

It is therefore the principal object of my invention to provide a support collar for a microphone or the like whereby the microphone is supported by the collar in a fixed position with respect to its distance from the wearers mouth, thereby allowing him to move about freely with full use of both of his hands.

A second important object of my inventionlies in the provision of a support collar whereby the supporting structure may be quickly and easily removed from the collar and replaced by a decorative stud.

A third important object of my invention lies in the provision of a support collar of the type described, which can be adjusted to the neck size of any wearer.

Still another important object of my invention lies in the provision of a support collar of the type described, which can be donned or removed in a matter of seconds.

These and other salient objects, advantages and functional features of my invention will become more readily apparent from an examination of the following specification, taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a prospective view of a preferred embodiment of my invention, disposed on the wearers neck;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view, partly in cross-section, showing engagement of the various parts of the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and of a microphone adapted to be secured thereto;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, taken on lines 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a section of the collar and attachments;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, showing the stud adapted to be secured into the collar socket;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, but showing the stud secured in the socket; and

FIG. 8 is a view, similar to FIG. 3, but showing a modified embodiment of the invention.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the different views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Illustrative of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-7, my support collar 10 comprises a collar element 12 to which is secured a post 14 supporting a bifurcated support member 16 adapted to seat a microphone 18, with the microphone cord 20 passing through the frontal opening of the member 16 to permit the seating of the microphone 18.

The collar element 12 is formed as a strap 24 of a substantially strong and rigid material, such as leather, provided with a protective lining 26 of soft and resilient material, such as sponge rubber or a similarly soft material. Although not shown the surface of the lining 26 may be covered with a further protective layer, such as velvet or the like.

As seen by FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer strap 24 is open at its free ends, with one end 28 extending beyond the lining 26, the unlined inner surface thereof provided with a section 30 of loop or pile material releaseably engageable to a section 32 of barb material secured to the outer surface of end 34 of the strap 24, thereby to secure the collar 12 around the wearers neck in any selective neck size, the combined sections 30 and 32 comprising a fastening material known by the trademark Velcro. Of course, other fastening means, as is well known in the art, may be substituted.

A socket plate 36 is secured to the inner surface of the strap 24 by means of rivets '38, with the socket 40 extending through the strap 24, as shown, and the socket 40 is internally threadecliAs seen particularly'in FIG. 2, the lining 26 covers the back of the plate 36,50 as to protect the wearers neck from contact with it. A post 14, provided with an external thread at one end, is

adapted to be engaged thereby with the socket 40, and the post 14 extends into a pair of parallel open arms 42 and 44 at its free end. A support member 16, which is bifurcated at its front end and provided with an arm 46 extending rearwardly therefrom, is secured to the post 14 by engagement of the arm 46 between the arms 42 and 44 by means of a bolt 48 secured through the arms 42 and 44 and the arm 46, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the engagement being such that the support member 16 is selectively rotatable, but frictionally maintainable in any desired position therein. The support member 16 is shaped as the inverted frustum of a cone, so that, as seen in FIGS. 1-3, the microphone 18 can be inserted through the top of the member 16 and slipped downward until it contacts the inner surface of the member 16, with the cord 20 passing through the open bifurcated section. v

Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, the outer surface of the strap 24 is decorated with a series of decorative studs 50, which are permanently secured thereto. Additionally there is provided a free stud 52 having a threaded neck 54 which is adapted to be secured to the socket 40 when the post 14 is removed therefrom.

MODIFIED EMBODIMENT If FIG. 8 there is shown a modified form 10' of my invention, wherein a post 56 is substituted for the post 14, the post 56 being formed of a series of jointed sections 58, forming a structure commonly known as a -go0seneck and capable of being twisted into various positions. In this embodiment the post 56 is threaded to the socket 14 in the same manner as in the preferred embodiment, but is secured directly to the bifurcated support member 16, as shown.

OPERATION OF THE INVENTION this position. Where the collar 12 is desired to be worn as a decorative piece the post 14 is removed from the "socket 40 and replaced by the stud 52.

While my invention has thus been described and shown as a support collar for a microphone, it is also to be noted that it maybe employed for other uses, as well. For example, referring to FIG. 8, instead of the support member 16 a clamping member (not shown) may be attached to the post 56 to hold a mouth organ in position where it may be played by the wearer without use of his hands.

It is thus to be noted that the embodiments shown and described are by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that various changes may be made in the construction, composition and arrangement of parts without limitation upon or departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof inherent therein, all of which are herein claimed.

Having described my invention, I claim:

I. A support for a microphone or the like comprising a collar formed of a substantially rigid outer portion and a protective lining covering the inner surface thereof, means to removably secure the collar around a wearers neck, a single straight post extending from the front of the collar, means to removably secure the post to the collar, a support member for a microphone or the like, and means to frictionally secure the support member to the free end of the post for selective rotation of the support member to any fixed position with respect to the wearer.

2. A support as described in claim 1, the means to secure the collar around the wearers neck comprising pile material secured to the inner surface of one end of the outer portion of the collar, and barb material secured to the outer surface of the other end.

3. A support as described in claim 2, the means to removeably secure the post to the collar comprising an internally threaded socket secured to and through the outer portion of the collar, and an external thread on one end of the post, adapted to mesh with the internal thread of the socket.

4. A support as described in claim 3, the support member comprising a bifurcated element, in the shape of an inverted cone frustum, adapted to receive and seat a microphone by passing the microphone cord through the opening therein. I

5. A support as described in claim 4, the means to secure the support member to the free end of the post for selective rotation of the support member comprising a pair of parallel arms formed at the free end of the post, a rearwardly extending arm on the support member disposed between the parallel arms, and a bolt passing through all of said arms.

6. A support as described in claim 3, the outer surface of the collar being ornamented.

7. In combination with a support as described in claim 6, a stud provided with an externally threaded neck adapted to be threaded into the collar socket upon removal of the post.

8. A support as described in claim 3, the post being ri id.

9. A support as described in claim 3, thepost formed of a series of interconnected jointed segments, whereby the post may be twisted for selective positioning of the support member. 

1. A support for a microphone or the like comprising a collar formed of a substantially rigid outer portion and a protective lining covering the inner surface thereof, means to removably secure the collar around a wearer''s neck, a single straight post extending from the front of the collar, means to removably secure the post to the collar, a support member for a microphone or the like, and means to frictionally secure the support member to the free end of the post for selective rotation of the support member to any fixed position with respect to the wearer.
 2. A support as described in claim 1, the means to secure the collar around the wearer''s neck comprising pile material secured to the inner surface of one end of the outer portion of the collar, and barb material secured to the outer surface of the other end.
 3. A support as described in claim 2, the means to removeably secure the post to the collar comprising an internally threaded socket secured to and through the outer portion of the collar, and an external thread on one end of the post, adapted to mesh with the internal thread of the socket.
 4. A support as described in claim 3, the support member comprising a bifurcated element, in the shape of an inverted cone frustum, adapted to receive and seat a microphone by passing the microphone cord through the opening therein.
 5. A support as described in claim 4, the means to secure the support member to the free end of the post for selective rotation of the support member comprising a pair of parallel arms formed at the free end of the post, a rearwardly extending Arm on the support member disposed between the parallel arms, and a bolt passing through all of said arms.
 6. A support as described in claim 3, the outer surface of the collar being ornamented.
 7. In combination with a support as described in claim 6, a stud provided with an externally threaded neck adapted to be threaded into the collar socket upon removal of the post.
 8. A support as described in claim 3, the post being rigid.
 9. A support as described in claim 3, the post formed of a series of interconnected jointed segments, whereby the post may be twisted for selective positioning of the support member. 